Appeals Board

Chairman

Appeals Board Members

Appeals Board Process

The Appeals Board is a newly formed panel of three members, all appointed by the President of the APCA. It will consist of a chairperson and two members who are active and in good standing with the association. The board will function and operate at the discretion of the APCA President.

The Appeals Board has been formed to preserve the integrity of the APCA and to make sure all members are treated fairly. It is not designed to take the place of either the Executive Board or Accreditation Board. The Appeals Board is to be used for valid issues or matters only.

The function of the Appeals Board is to review any complaint(s) filed by a member, and/or to review or clarify any issues or questions regarding any incident, that the APCA president requests such review or clarification of. The following is a guide but, is not limited to, reasons why a member could file a complaint:

A member or applicant feels that he or she has been treated unjustly, unfairly or discriminated against for any reason.

A member feels that he or she has been treated unfairly during a sanctioned APCA event or any APCA certification.

A member is applying for accreditation in their respective fields for the position of trainer or master trainer and have been refused or eliminated from the process without valid reasons or for reasons they believe is not egregious in nature causing them to be halted.

A member has appeared before the Accreditation Board and was refused the position they are applying for when they feel the standard criteria was met.

The Executive Board or Accreditation Board needs clarification on any matter that they feel is needed.

A current trainer or master trainer has their privileges revoked and feels that it was not justified.

The following are guidelines on how to file a complaint with the Appeals Board:

The member will contact the APCA President and request a complaint be filed with the Appeals Board.

The President will then inform the Appeals Board Chairperson of the complaint. The Appeals Board Chairperson will then inform all members on the board, the nature of the complaint. The board will then start an independent review of the facts. If the board feels the complaint has merit, they will initiate a complete investigation of the incident. The board can ask any members involved in the complaint to appear and testify before the board to any factual concerns regarding the incident.

Due to the boards function, the board can convene at anytime necessary to perform their function as it was designed for.

The APCA President will be updated as to the progress of each complaint. Once completed, the board will render a decision and will notify all parties of concern in writing or email communication, as to the boards findings.

All findings of the Appeals Board are final and will supersede any decisions by the Executive Board or Accreditation Board’s rulings.

The Appeals Board should not be used to replace the decision(s) of the Executive or Accreditation Boards, when there is no factual merit for the members complaint.